Into The Woods
by MarLuna
Summary: [Modern AU] Lost in the forest, Zelda finds herself drawn to the ghost boy, Link, who's unable to neither speak nor leave the woods. Left with his ocarina and her own horrible talent for music, she is determined to find the truth behind the spirit. Old allies and foes return, blurring the truth into a giant puzzle. Can she figure out in time or will she loose herself to the forest?
1. A Dance

**Into The Woods [Legend of Zelda]**

 _Written by MarLuna_

 _+standard disclaimer applied_

* * *

 _Summary_

[Modern AU.] Zelda finds herself lost in forest and drawn to a tune that she's never heard before. The song was created by a ghost boy, Link, unable to neither speak nor leave the forest. Zelda, left with his ocarina and her own horrible talent for music, is determined to find the truth behind the spirit and why he's so attached to the land. Old allies and foes return, blurring the truth into a giant puzzle. Can Zelda figure out in time, or will she join Link in the forest to play forever?

* * *

 **Chapter One: A Dance**

There were trees. There were way too many trees. They were dancing around me, mocking me. They shimmied intricately and incited me to salsa. But I couldn't just yet, because my dad refused to let me take dance classes. He said they would make me above the rest of the class and that I should stay normal instead. Normal my butt! He knew nothing about being normal! I just got lost in a forest for crying out loud! No one I knew ever had that happen. They broke their phones or mussed up their hair or fell over splat on their faces, but not me. I had to be the one with the unlucky stupid forest around me. My best friend Impa would laugh if she saw me like this: walking in circles, tears rolling off my cheeks, along with a despairing posture. Ugh, I knew it, it had to be the end for me. My mediocre life of sleeping in every Saturday morning and yelling at my cat for eating all my hair ties was now over! This dance the trees were doing had to be some sort of death dance where their foe gets so confused and mortified that they get dizzy and die. Yes, that had to be it. In fact, I was already feeling dizzy. Oh, I knew I should've eaten the last cookie this morning! I don't want it to end like this!

I was overcome with weakness and fell over, the grass tickling my ears and blending with my hair. The trees still swayed and swam in and out of my vision. I closed my eyes, unable to take it. If this was what happened when people died, then I don't even want live through it again! I couldn't even bare the mere thought of partnering up with a tree in a dancing competition! I hoped it passed quickly. I couldn't take it any longer!

Music started to play from a distance.

I snapped up in surprise. It wasn't any day that random people played music in the woods for the fun of it. It had to be a sign! If there was music, then it meant there was someone playing an instrument in order to play that music! That was my ticket out of here! ...Unless the music was one of the tree's way to get me to dance with them. If that was the case, then no thank you, I'm running in the opposite direction. I'm gonna find myself a real dance partner.

My natural strong sense of curiosity couldn't be quenched, so I ventured forth and practically ran as if hell was on my heels to find the tune. I wasn't a very musical person as well, so my ears had a super hard time telling what song it was and even the mere direction it was coming from. But eventually, I made it to a clearing, with a tree stump and a person standing on top of it, forest animals surrounding him. He turned to me when I arrived. I couldn't take my eyes off of him. Blond hair pushed back under a green cap, blue eyes that looked like they could electrify you, and a tiny body that exuded leadership and purpose. The strangest part was the strong sword attached to his back, too large for his person but yet it seemed so fitting there. The boy beckoned me closer.

My boots scrunched in the grass as I approached and it spooked the forest animals. I scowled, because it made me seem like I was the boogie man coming down to hunt this kid and it wasn't a nice feeling. They ran back to the trees and I stared at them longingly. I stopped walking near the boy and stared at the instrument in his hands. If that's what had called the animals, then he just needed to play a song again and they would re-flock to him without caring for my presence. As if reading my mind, the kid lifted the odd contraption to his lips and breathed the melodious tune from before once more. I closed my eyes, enjoying the sound now that I was actually much closer. This was something I enjoyed! Not math, not friends bickering like idiots, not my cat meowing for the tenth time for me to open the window, not even my dad singing in the shower every morning, but this, this moment of tranquil and soft music.

What if this boy was an angel here to carry me away to heaven? I mean, the trees were dancing me to death, so it was only fitting that this kid that seemed both pure and tainted would be the one to choose my fate and lead me to my final end. Unless he was planning to do the same thing that the trees were and make me dance too. Then I was going to have to run away and get lost again. Like, I know partying is a fun time, but it was not the reason I wanted to stay lost in this forest forever. For example, give me a buffet and gosh darn it, I would sell my soul just to be able to eat everything on it forever. That's how to win my heart, with food, not music and dancing.

The music stopped. The kid held out his tiny instrument at me.

I stared and stared and just simply stared at it. Then I looked up at him, and he nodded at me to take it. I didn't do anything though, instead go back to staring at it like an idiot. I was supposed to play that thing? Me? Of all the musically talented people in the world, me? I couldn't even tell apart one type of musical note from another! Even my music teachers flinch at the mere thought of me learning to play an instrument and developing that kind of talent. They knew how bad I was with understanding sound, and heck, even _I_ did. There was no way that if I took that instrument that the animals would stay surrounding us. They were going to scream and whine and explode at the mere unpleasantness of the blasphemy I would create.

"I can't play instruments." I told him simply, with a look that told him that he should've known better. And he should've, by the flabbergasted look on my face. I mean, really, learn to read the mood, kid. If my face says no, then I'm sure to say no too. It's prefect logic.

He stayed quiet and insisted with a jerk of his hand and head that I should just take it.

I grumbled but took it to appease him. He smiled and waited, but I didn't play it. I wasn't going to play. I wasn't going to go and make everyone explode just because this kid got too lazy to play for himself. No siree. I was a nice person, you see. And not blowing up people using the horrible sound I knew I would produce was a nice thing. I was going to stay nice too. No amount of this boy's frowns and nods and coaxing was going to change my mind. I was a strong independent woman who didn't no music.

"Do you know the way out of this forest?" I finally addressed the real situation in mind. He tilted his head at me in confusion. "I'm lost and I want to go home."

He pointed to the instrument in my hands.

I scowled. "No. I'm not going to play. I want to go home."

His face scrunched up, eyebrows furrowing and nose wiggling. I waited for him to answer. He didn't speak again, but this time took the instrument back from my hands. I didn't really mind since it wasn't mine in the first place. With a deep breath, he started playing again, stomping his feet in place as a different tune came out of the instrument. His fingers danced fluently over the instrument, at a different and speedier pace than the first I had heard. It sounded like an easy march, and the animals around us trotted excitedly on their feet. Once he was sure we all were focusing on him, he started to move, and the animals followed him in line, just like the leader of a marching band. He did a few circles around the clearing, ensuring that we were all following him, before he explored further and into the dancing trees. I followed at the end of the line, behind a chattering deer and squirrel. We snaked and coiled around trees, dodging what seemed like a safe path and making our own in zigzags. It was a long line, and it felt like he was purposely extending the time and the road to the exit. Just when I was going to give up on the boy, thinking he was dragging me in circles, the music stopped abruptly. The animals, as if brought out of a trance, looked around before bolting apart, a few even leaving us to go back and about their daily business. I continued and found the boy. He was staring longingly past a set of trees, at what he couldn't see.

"Where are we? I want to leave this forest." I repeated the command, hoping it would snap him out of it.

He simply raised his hand and pointed past the trees he was fixated upon.

"That's the way out?"

He nodded.

"Aren't you coming with me?"

He shook his head.

Well, I had to agree with him. I don't think the authorities would be quite okay with letting him frolic about the city with a giant sword on his back.

I raised my hand as a salute. "It was nice seeing you."

He nodded and bowed his head a little as his own show of appreciation or respect. I was about to turn and be on my merry way when he motioned for me to take his little instrument again.

I scowled and shook my head. "That's yours. I don't need it."

He held it closer towards me, an insisting look on his face.

"No, no, it's yours—" I held out a hand and shook it around as a no. "—I can't play instruments."

He ignored me and pushed it into my hand. I whined and complained, trying to return it back, but he dodged me skillfully. With a little silent laugh that brightened up his surprisingly grim features, he danced away, back from whence he came. I watched him go, calling out to him, but he refused to listen. He danced with the trees, as if he belonged with them, and with a final meaningful glance sent my way, he vanished into thin air, like wisps of smoke stretching into the sky from a dim fire.

I had mingled with a spirit in the forest.

And the ocarina in my hands reflected three golden triangles within its surface.


	2. Advice

**Into The Woods [Legend of Zelda]**

 _Written by MarLuna_

 _+standard disclaimer applied_

* * *

 _Summary_

[Modern AU.] Zelda finds herself lost in forest and drawn to a tune that she's never heard before. The song was created by a ghost boy, Link, unable to neither speak nor leave the forest. Zelda, left with his ocarina and her own horrible talent for music, is determined to find the truth behind the spirit and why he's so attached to the land. Old allies and foes return, blurring the truth into a giant puzzle. Can Zelda figure out in time, or will she join Link in the forest to play forever?

* * *

 **Chapter Two: Advice**

When I went home, dad was angry. And not his usual red-face-steam-blowing-out-of-the-ears angry, but this one was the full package: red face, steam out of the ears, nose flaring, eyes popping out his head, drool flying out of his mouth, and snot threatening to land on my forehead. It was both scary and amusing at the same time. "Where have you been young lady?" He roared. "Do you know how much I was worried?" There was also a "You could've died!" and "What if you were attacked?" and "I swear to the goddesses this always happens when I don't send out guards with you!" Mind you, we didn't actually have any guards, but the sentiment was there.

I was already somewhat used to this behavior from him. He would do something like this every time I went over to Impa's . Few hours later, I'd have his breath stinking down my throat until I could console him that I had definitely not been mugged and that I had been actually pretty safe and dandy. In this case, I was just following this kid around with his magical flute. There was nothing unsafe about that at all.

"A boy? A flute?" He kept roaring like the dragon we both knew he wasn't. "Where is this?"

I didn't dare show him the actual flute else he'd claim I'd have stolen it and that I was going to go to jail. "In the woods."

At the word 'woods', his face got fifty shades of purple. "WOODS? WHAT WOODS? DON'T YOU KNOW HOW DANGEROUS THE WOODS ARE?"

I waved him down dismissively. "The woods next to the school, the one with the little bridge."

"You mean the one that was taken down thirty years ago to build some fancy business industry?"

"Yes! Exactly!" I realized the mistake. "...what?"

It was like dad's rage was swept away by the waves of the ocean once he realized I no longer knew what I was talking about. He was suddenly all cool and calm and collected. He pulled out his laptop and we ended up using Google to prove it. I, of course, still refused to admit it. I couldn't have possibly imagined the boy and the woods! My creativity was so small that it could bring a mouse to shame! I was only good at one thing and that was memorizing things, and something like this random vivid forest dream was not going to ruin my reputation. No siree! I needed to find that forest again and prove to my dad that it was real. And then we'd go have picnics and we could do cool things and we could play instruments that will bring all the other badly-playing-instrument players to shame and all sorts of other fancy things. And then maybe my dad will start freaking out less when, Goddesses forbid, I'm not home at exactly 4 o'clock, 45 minutes, 38 seconds, and 12.3 milliseconds.

I needed to find this forest and the only lead I had was that fancy industry that took over the forest. And a tiny ocarina. Yeah, that was going to go well. I needed to return to the area and speak with that kid again. Or maybe the industry was actually gone and the forest grew back, or maybe they build their own private forest and I visited that one instead. Either way, I needed to figure out why my dad and I's memories about the place were so different.

So I set out on my mission. I waited until my dad fell asleep to his favourite TV show after supper before I slipped outside. I grabbed my bike, packed anything I deemed necessary (which wasn't much, really), along with the ocarina, and was on my way. Thankfully, the school wasn't too far. It was a good half an hour of biking (more or less depending on the stop lights), so it was a good thing I liked exercise and did many of these types of runs before. Even the people living on the streets knew me when I passed—I had a tendency to sing (really off key too) as I went.

"Zelda dear!" one of the adults I was passing waved me closer. I skid to a stop at the door of her fence (that she built solely to stop the deer from eating her incredible flowers) and hopped off my bike. She wasn't like the usual adults too—she was one of those cool adults that everyone liked. She seemed to know anything and everything, full of wisdom that no one knew how she had gained it. She was also really super willful, and loved to change her look as her mood felt. Today she was dressed in light flowing garments, with her hair let down and dyed a really beautiful blue. I was almost jealous, but I knew that my own gold hair was the purest through all the land! (Or so my dad liked to tell me.) The weird thing about her was that she refused to let anyone know her name, and instead desired to be called "The Oracle". Although odd, no one refused her. She was really respected here in this town, even if it was hard to figure her out.

"Here, I have a feeling you'll need this." She reached back to the little table next to her outdoor porch swing and passed me the bag that was waiting there. I peaked inside and saw a few little fruit pies laying in wait. I glanced back up in confusion. "For you and your friend." She clarified, and a chill went down my spine at how she knew I was going to visit the kid in the forest. Not that I was complaining. I loved pies! The timing of them was just plain old creepy though. I told no one of my plans and there was no one else I was going to see today. "Oh, but the last one is for your dad. You can tell him you've been with me for the evening and he won't be the wiser. He loves my pies." She smiled sweetly, a sly glint in her eye. The Oracle was really nice to me, she loved having my back and getting my dad off of it. She knew just the right way to help me when I needed it.

"Can I have some advice?" I asked as I put away the bag of delicious treats into the little basket at the front of my bike.

"Sure thing, sweetie, I love giving advice." She clasped her hands together and her eyes went wide in excitement. If she were about twenty years younger, I bet you she would have been hopping in her little heels. Although she was known as The Oracle and the rich loved coming to her for advice, her spot-on predictions and fortune telling had gotten people afraid of her and her abilities. She was not as popular as she once had been and, although she didn't regret it, she still wished that she could be helping more people this late in the game.

"What do I do if..." It was weird talking to her about something like this, but I trusted her. She was like the mother I had lived without. I knew she cared a lot for me and wouldn't judge me when I was at my lowest. I knew I could trust her with my craziest thoughts and ideas, even if they made no sense. "What do I do if the truth turns out to be a giant lie?" I was referring here to the truth about the forest and the kid, but I knew from experience that even if I didn't give the most secret of details, she always knew what I was talking about deep down. And she always knew how to make me feel better.

She looked deep into my eyes and saw what I held hidden within them. "Although the truth may show itself to only a few, and although its reality has changed now, it doesn't alter its state. It doesn't make it less true than it already is. It just takes the one to prove its existence."

"Is proving its existence truly beneficial though?" There might be miscommunication here. I only wanted to prove it to my father. It wasn't something as big and important as she made it seem to be.

She seemed to understand the conflict in my expression. "Even if it's only for one, or even if it's only for many, the truth has a way of liberating us." And now she had lost me. Liberating truth? I was only doing this to prove to my dad that I was indeed not doing illegal things and that I wasn't actually on any hallucinogenic substances. Didn't seem like anything liberating to me. It was more along the lines of preventing my dad from having a heart attack. Oh! Maybe she meant it was going to liberate him from that incoming heart attack? That would make sense.

She shook her head at my epiphany. "You'll understand when it's time."

I shrugged. "Okay, thank you!"

She waved at me as I climbed my mighty steed of a bike and started back on my way. "Have a good time! Be careful of the trees!"

"Don't have to tell me twice!" I laughed back over my shoulder. Those dancing trees were just plain ol' creepy and weren't going to get any dances out of me.

I eventually made it back to the school, and then few minutes later, I had found the little bridge. It seemed normal at first, trees surrounding the area, but it was when I neared that I noticed the difference. The trees were only there as some sort of fence or pretend forest; past the first few layers of foliage, the building constructed within the area towered up from its hiding position and blinded me in the face with a good reflection from the sun. Goddesses dang it, I was at a bad angle from this thing. I still made it though. I just had to take a five minute break so that my eyes could readjust and not have me see dark blotches all over the place.

I took the pies and hid my bike under the bridge to avoid a random passerby passing and making a few good hundred bucks off of it. I trotted up the wooden planks of creaky unsteadiness and considered going back. It could have been a whole dream. No no no wait, The Oracle knew of the kid. She sounded like she wanted me to go back and solve the issue. Yeah. I could do it. My nerves were just getting to me.

I took my first step onto the grass of the surrounding trees.

My vision shifted and a strong scent of incense hit me.

I fainted.


	3. Strawberry Delight

**Into The Woods [Legend of Zelda]**

 _Written by MarLuna_

 _+standard disclaimer applied_

* * *

 _Summary_

[Modern AU.] Zelda finds herself lost in forest and drawn to a tune that she's never heard before. The song was created by a ghost boy, Link, unable to neither speak nor leave the forest. Zelda, left with his ocarina and her own horrible talent for music, is determined to find the truth behind the spirit and why he's so attached to the land. Old allies and foes return, blurring the truth into a giant puzzle. Can Zelda figure out in time, or will she join Link in the forest to play forever?

* * *

 **Chapter Three: Strawberry Delight**

When the kid saw me again, nearing him and clutching my head, his face was an amusing scene. He jumped up from his tree stump, excited, and started running over. However, he stopped abruptly when he saw my disgruntled face. He motioned to my face, probably curious as to why I was holding my head like I was having a brain freeze from a quickly drank slushie.

"I fell when I came here. Don't worry about it, I'm not gonna bruise or anything." I tried to soothe him but he didn't look convinced. I instead tried to distract him by lifting the bag I was holding and mentioning to the stuff inside. "My friend baked us pies if you'd like one?"

He lit up like a Christmas tree. He nodded his head so fast I had almost confused him for a bobble head. I set the treats on his favorite tree stump and unpacked everything (pies, plates, utensils, napkins, etc.). When I glanced back up, I saw that we were surrounded by the kid's usual possy of wild animals. I glanced at him in worry.

He did a classic silent laugh before motioning me with his hands to play my ocarina.

Even though it was a tranquil moment and speaking would break it and might even scare them all away, I had to. "I don't know how to play it."

He shrugged at the fact and motioned again for me to get it.

I sighed with a bit of frustration. He wasn't going to stop until I did it, was he? He was like the pet parrot that my dad had gotten when we had lost my mom: he kept yelling at us for food and the only time he'd stop was when we fed him. Otherwise, he didn't care for me. He was a jerk bird like that. I was somewhat glad when he died because then he'd stop eating my homework and my teachers would get less upset with me letting him do it (it got to the point where I had to take pictures of him doing it to stay credible). He was still a good bird though, he loved sitting on my dad's head and chirping at him when he felt lonely. I wouldn't say I missed him though. He was still such a jerk to me.

But this kid wasn't that stupid bird, he wasn't going to ignore me once I did what he asked of me. He was a good kid. Well, as good as you can get with that scary giant sword on his back. I was curious as to why he had that. My thirst for knowledge could wait though.

I grabbed the ocarina and held it close to my mouth. I made a deal with him. "I play but you teach me." He nodded enthusiastically, not realizing how difficult the task was going to be. I felt almost bad for him. Almost, because I knew from experience that this would end up like any other music lesson I've ever had; the teachers quitting out of frustration and assigning to someone else until there was no one left to help this poor golden haired maiden learn to be more ladylike. At least, that was what ladies did in the olden days. They played instruments and sang beautifully and did housework and cooked and took care of the children and blah blah blah. They always seemed so romanticised that I wasn't sure if it was real or not. The music part mostly, because the rest was sexist enough for the time.

The kid mimicked me, though not holding anything in his hands and feeling less silly than I felt. He changed his finger positions and I mimicked him. He frowned at me. I tilted my head at him in confusion. He motioned for me to blow into the instrument. I shook my head at that. I couldn't even dare make a noise with this. I was going to scare all the animals away!

He read my expression and did three notes with his hands. I copied them and he smiled. He repeated them and he had me practice them until I could time my hands to the beat of his before learning the next ones. He didn't push the issue of me blowing into the ocarina yet. I think today was working on getting me comfortable with the instrument and being able to focus on my notes instead of the sound.

We kept it up until my arms got tired and I demanded a break. Without much convincing, we dove into the pies. The Oracle's prediction was spot on with my favorite strawberry pie, and I swear I saw the kid giggle at the cheering I did when I realized it. But there was something a little odd with his behaviour. He stood back, afraid to near me or the food. When I sliced the delicious tart and handed it to him, he waved me a 'no thank you'. I frowned at that. The Oracle had predicted that we would eat pies together and have a grand ol' time. This odd behavior was oddly out of the question.

"My friend made these for us. Don't be shy and have some!" I cheered him on. He gulped, the sugary treat looking absolutely delectable in his eyes. It wasn't something you could so easily say no to either. He had amazing self control. I practically begged him with my eyes to take some, trying not to look absolutely pathetic.

He slowly nodded and reached out.

I held out his plate to him again.

His hand looked like it had grabbed onto the plate so I let go. I watched in what felt like slow motion as the dessert slid from my fingers, melted through his, and splattered on the ground. The event didn't register properly in my mind. It was like I was rejecting what had just happened.

"Sorry!" I yelped, grabbing napkins and cleaning the mess from the surprisingly well kept sparkly green grass. "I thought you were holding onto it! Sorry!"

I glanced up at his face. He was frozen in place, looking at his outstretched hand that had so desperately tried to catch the slice of pie. He was mortified. It was like something like this had never happened before. Had he never dropped food before?

"Hey, its okay, I'll get you another piece," it was weird consoling a stranger. The way he reacted reminded me of little kids making their first mistakes and never being able to forgive themselves for it. I lived near a daycare so I knew how to deal with them. This kid looked to be older than them, though younger than me, so it was hard to see him never make a mistake before.

I placed a hand on his shoulder.

I felt nothing and my hand kept going forward, right through his body.

I froze and stared at my own hand, almost mirroring what he was doing.

I... went through him? He wasn't there? He... he was a projection? A figment of my imagination? But even when I inspected the ground and tried to figure out how he was here, there was no sign of any third party interference. I could only just gape. He... was a ghost? A spirit?

"The ocarina!" My mind immediately rejected. He was holding onto the ocarina and then gave it to me, and even took it back for a little. He couldn't be some sort of ghost spirit if he could hold onto it!

I ran back, grabbed the instrument, and gave it back to the boy. He grabbed it, looking confused, and unlike the pie, it didn't drop to the ground and make a huge mess. I took it back from him. I gave it back. I took it again. He was getting more and more confused and although it didn't make sense, I kept going "the ocarina! The ocarina! You can hold the ocarina! You're one step away from being a ghost!"

He shook his head at me and pointed to something. I followed his gaze and realized he was pointing at the small golden glowing triangles that were imprinted in its form. I stared and realized that one of them seemed to be a lot brighter than the others. Then he took it from me and the one bright triangle dimmed, and another of the two left started to glow bright instead. This was a confusing statement from him.

"Are you saying that... only three people can use this ocarina? Whoever you've assigned to those triangles?" He both nodded and shrugged so I took that as an almost yes. I felt like I was missing something but it wasn't something that I felt I could figure out just yet with him still not speaking a word to me.

I knew what my next step was though. I needed to research this magical ocarina that could let ghosts play it. I needed to figure out its secrets in order to understand how this little ghost kid came to be.

I sat back on the tree stump, ate my pie, watched the forest animals come and go to interact with the kid. He would take the ocarina and play for them, many tunes I could and couldn't remember. Even if he didn't know it, he was doing it to distract himself from me eating in his face, since he couldn't do that and it would make him upset. So I hurried to finish the food and put it all away in the bag.

"Hey..." I realized I didn't know his name and then nearly slapped myself in the head because duh this kid couldn't tell me his name even if he wanted to. "...can we keep practicing?"

His face brightened tenfold and he quickly bounded over. He dropped the instrument in my hands and was already ready with his hands holding an invisible one. I lifted the flute to my lips, copied him, and for once, finally, decided to blow and make music.

* * *

 **Just a little answers to reviews:**

 _Machina per Dei:_ 10 bucks for MM Link B) And yeah sorry for taking so long, I tend to get busy during the summer

 _kelpiejh:_ I'm glad to hear you like the story so far! I'll try my best to update it as fast as I can!

 _Missy Mist:_ Thank you and I hope the story will continue being to your liking!

 _Lionhearted:_ Thank you for the kind words! I appreciate it! And I'll try my best to keep this story going far!


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